prayer for the last time today at the vatican. an emotional crowd gathered to hear him speak but his resignation comes at a time when the vatican and the catholic church are in the middle of other controversies. more on that straight ahead. just five days until forced spending cut go into effect. in this country, $85 billion in cuts will impact defense and social programs if congress and the president don't reach a budget deal. and oscars fever hits hollywood, the biggest and best awards show in tinseltown kicks off just two hours from now, we will have a red carpet preview straight ahead. but first, let's talk about those spending cuts, $85 billion worth. athena jones joining us from the north lawn of the white house. the deadline is friday. these cut does affect all of us in one way or another, actually, we are back inside now. tell us how. >> reporter: well, you know, we are hearing about all kinds of

bad effects if these cut goes into affect. 75,000 kids could lose access to head start. low-income senior citizens could lose food aid. talking about longer lines at airport security, delays, air traffic controllers, you see cuts there and also another example is food inspections there will be less money available to make sure our products like meat are safe to eat. everyone agrees these cuts, across-the-board cuts are a bad idea, people believe they should, both sides should be able to come together and agree on targeted cuts, really look what the needs to be cut. let's listen to what missouri democrat claire mccaskill said about this morning. >> why is it that we can't come to the table and agree what cuts need to happen? that's what we should be doing. we shouldn't be passing the blame to the executive branch or saying this is obama's sequester. the republicans supported this. i supported it. we need to come together and make the right cut.

>> reporter: so there you heard senator mccaskill asking why can't the two sides come together. probably what the american people are asking as well, fred. >> right, and since both, i guess the white house and congress came one this, who stand stands i guess lose the most, be hurt the most if a deal isn't reached in time? >> reporter: a good question. both gamble if the cut ghouls into effect. both sides are trying to show the other party should bear the responsibility for all these bad things that are going to happen. and if you believe the recent poll by the pew and "usa today," they make it look as though the white house may be winning this argument. asked who they would blame if the cut ghouls into affect, 31% said president obama. 49% said republicans in congress. and only 11% said both. that may be why we're seeing the president hit the road again this week, frederica, head down to new port news, virginia, to talk about how these cuts would

affect the middle class. fred? >> athena jones, thanks so much from washington, the white house. meantime you overseas, the pope delivered his last public prayer today before stepping down but his resignation comes at a time went vatican and the catholic church are in the middle of controversies. our becky anderson has details. >> reporter: frederica, it was a very frail and tired looking pope benedict xvi who addressed tens of thousands of pilgrim house are gathered in the square at st. peter's behind me to hear what was the pope's last public blessing. he had said sensationally only a week and a half ago that he was resigning because he was of ailing health and that he was too old for the job. but now, questions around who knew what when storm clouds gathering over the roman catholic church. the italian media is abuzz with allegations that a network of

gay clerics have made themselves vulnerable to blackmail from male prostitutes. the vatican has responded to those allegations by saying, and i quote, "it's deplorable that as the time for the roman catholic church to elect a new pope approaches," talking, of course, to the conclave, "a rash often invented, unverifiable or completely false news stories has appeared." to add to this, british media public stories about the top scottish cleric and only eligible british cardinal for conclave reporting that four priests, three current priests and one former priest, are alleging inappropriate behavior by cardinal keith o'brien. now, he should have been at mass at st. mary's cathedral in

scotland earlier on sunday. he wasn't there. the bishop who took that mass said that he is aware of those reports and that he is seeking legal advice. we are told by the vatican that the pope is aware of o'brien's case. frederica? >> becky, thank you so much. in south africa, the older brother of oscar pistorius is charged in a woman's death. carl pistorius is charged with culpable homicide after an accident involving a motorcycle in 2010. the charges were initially dropped, but he now faces a trial at the end of march. prosecutors say carl pistorius had been driving recklessly at the time of the accident. coming up in a few minutes, we will talk about how this could impact oscar pistorius's murder case. a suspect has been identified in that fatal shooting and crash on the las vegas strip that left three people dead. police are now looking for 26-year-old ammar harris. they believed he opened fire from a range rover thursday morning, killing rapper kenneth cherry, who was driving a maserati. cherry's masser is rattlety smashed into a taxi, which

caught fire. the taxi driver and a passenger died. cherry's father tells our affiliate kvvu his son was a good guy. >> there was no guns in my son's car. he was a victim, just like any other victim, that is being attempted to be carjacked or did something wrong, driving a car and the person got mad at them or they just was jealous of my son. >> police have impounded the range rover they say ammar harris was driving. the far-reaching winter storm has made life in denver quite a mess. the storm has dumped several inches there and across the central plains. and the forecast calls for even more snow before it's all over. and gas prices have gone up again, making miserable for everybody, but this time, there just might be some good news in the lundberg survey. gallon of regular unleaded cost $3.83 nation wide, up 20 cents the past two weeks, but the speed of that spike has slowed down. the survey's publisher says gas

price does even begin to drop soon. a little hope. in a recent poll, most people want the forced budget cuts to be delayed but polls might not be enough to stop the axe that's about to fall on that budget. my mother made the best toffee in the world.

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sunday talk shows this week, you guessed it, the showdown over forced spending cuts. s here the sound of sunday. >> congress goes on recess and the president goes golfing. why isn't somebody in a room somewhere, in a shirt they have had on for three days, ordering takeout pizza with a bunch of people trying to figure it out if this it is that bad? >> that is what we should be doing. but i won't blame totally the president of the united states. but the president leads. he should be calling us from somewhere, camp david, wherever, and discuss the cuts. >> we will try to cut as much as we possibly can out of contracts and other things that we do but in the end, there has to be some kind of furlough of air traffic control -- air traffic controllers. then that then will also begin

to curtail or eliminate the opportunity for them to guide planes in and out of airports. >> give them the ability to shift the dollars, make priorities or spending cut, don't do it with an axe but a scalpel. >> more flexibility over where to hit with the cuts and when? >> i think that congress should debt sit down and avoid the southwester and if the sequester kicks in for a week or two we should then fix it so it doesn't become a permanent thing. >> education is not just march 2nd, it is what happens in match and april and may and june and going back to school this fall f we have 70,000 less children in head start, if we have tens of thousands of poor children and children with disabilities not getting the services they need, children of military families get disproportionately impacted, all of a sudden, those children get a worse education, that's not right, major, that's not fair. doesn't make sense. >> we know forced spending cut russ this week's big topic, but gun control and the nomination of chuck hagel as defense secretary also on the front burner. cnn political ed tore paul

steinhauser has his take on this week's hot issues. >> reporter: hey, fred. it's the biggest story here in washington, those forced spending cuts, which will kick in starting friday if there's no deal between the white house and congress to avert them. so, what do you think about those cut you a majority in two new polls say they should be delayed, including 54% questioning a new bloomberg survey. four in ten say let the cutting begin. the president's pointing fingers at republicans in congress. >> this is not a smart way for us to reduce the deficit. >> reporter: they are faulting mr. obama. who do you think is blamed? nearly half questioned in a "usa today"/pew poll said three in ten say mr. obama would be more at fault. there is a crucial senate hearing this week on gun violence, gun control proposals start making their way through congress in the wake of last year's mass shooting at a connecticut school. according that-to-that same surveys have half stay is more important to control gun ownership, 46% say protecting

the rights of gun owners should-the top concern. also this week the senate may finally vote on chuck hagel's nomination as defense secretary. you know, i have got some polls on hailing, let's be honest, the only numbers that really matter will be how the 100 senators vote on the controversial nominee. fred? >> thanks so much, paul steinhauser. will the the case against oscar pistorius. coming up, we will put it under the microscope with a forensic psychiatrist. [ man laughs ] now, this is a test drive. whoa! you can really el all 335 foot-pounds of torque. it's chevy truck month! the silverado is also recognized for the lowest cost of ownership. hey, what are you gonna do with it? end table. oh. [ male announcer ] it's chevy truck month. get 0% financi for 60 months,

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perhaps you saw it, a spectacular finish at the daytona 500. the 500-mile nascar race ended minutes ago with jimmie johnson taking the big win. cnn's john zarrella is also taking it all in at the winner's circle there. danica patrick coming in, what, eighth place. >> reporter: yeah, frederica

what a terrific day today, jimmie johnson down there in victory lane talking to members of the media, winning his second daytona 500. as you mentioned, a great day for danica patrick, she was the first woman to win the poll position for the 500, the first woman today in 500 history to lead at least one lap and she had the highest finish of any woman in the history of the daytona 500, coming in in the top ten, finishing eighth. what a contrast to what we saw yoen yesterday on the nationwide race. more than 28 people injured in all. seven still at area hospitals today as the race here started. we did have an opportunity earlier in the day to talk to people who witnessed what happened yesterday.

what they were telling us it happened instantaneously, no idea until parts were actually flying at them. interestingly enough, most of those people came back today and they said they had no qualms about coming back today, racing is what they love. despite the accident. one man telling us, you can go to a baseball game and get hit with a ball or a bat. but now, today, frederica, you walked over to that area are you couldn't tell an accident, a crash had taken place yesterday. the fence had been completely replaced, repaired a stairway led down to the track, removed and behind the stands, so no signs at all today of what was really a very horrific incident yesterday and again, seven people were still in the hospital today a big victory

here today and danica patrick making history once again. >> so fantastic on that finish, i wonder though jimmy johnson, a good sport around the second time winning daytona but still has to kind of share the spotlight with danica, given that she is a top ten finisher and still being pep weird the questions about the history that she has made. >> you know exour folks went over to talk to her today and i know they have had an opportunity to speak with danica so a i'm looking forward to hearing what she had to say. i'm sure she has to be absolutely -- certainly would have loved to whip. coming into the last lap, she was sitting in third. and, you know, everybody here was going, wow, this is going to be terrific, then there was an accident on the second turn, i believe, that last lap, and all of a sudden, there was a bunch of shuffling of some cars, before you know it she had fallen took about eighth place where she finished. still, one terrific effort. >> sounds like still an incredible finish.

john zarrella, thanks so much, from daytona. >> reporter: sure. meantime, people all over the world are following every detail in the pistorius murder case. the olympic hero is accused of killing his girlfriend, reeva steenkamp in south africa. he says he mistook her for an intruder but the state says it was premeditated murder. which version of the story could be right? forensic psychiatrist and chairman of the forensic panel, dr. michael wellner joining me now. good to see you, dr. wellner. >> good after mean. >> from what you have seen or heard, does this have the hallmarks of premeditated murder? >> i don't think we know what happened and we have to be patient to allow the evidence to resolve itself. what we are look saying the a death investigation. it is resolving the difference between accident and murder. and in this case, i'm encouraged, at least at this point, that the evidence is

going to give us an answer of what happened and whose right. in my professional opinion, most telling dilemma is to resolve, one, there was a cricket bat that was in some way involved in this homicide? two, what are the results of toxicology going to show about any kind of performance-enhancing drugs, particularly steroids or any other kind of stimulant or alcohol and its metabolic pathway, when it would have been taken? and three, a reconstruction of the scene in order to get a better sense of whether there was a struggle that was ongoing or whether the damage, the destructiveness was limited to one particular area and also recreating, to whatever degree possible, the shooting and other aspects of the violence. we will get a lot of answers from that we can draw some

clues, it is striking, it's remarkable, pistorius' presentation in court. doesn't tell if you he is telling the truth or doesn't tell if you he is no i will share my professional experience of people overwrought in court. you see that when -- in a situation of an accident or you see it in a situation where something very quickly got out of hand. so, if people were contemplating that this was some long, calculated plot, i think that what we've seen so far would suggest that this was either a confrontation that got out of hand, in which he was not managing his emotion and made some very poor decision, or this was, indeed, an accident which he made decisions of another variety. >> interesting. you talk about those pieces of evidence that you would want to hear more about, but something else that you believe would help you in a conclusion about whether this was premeditated or not to know about the dynamics of their relationship. how would one go about learning the dynamics of the relationship

and whether anything would be revealed to show motive, intent or whether it was, indeed, just an accident? >> yeah, you have to learn what you can. and one of the important rulings of the judge centered around how pistorius gave a very detailed account from his vantage point as opposed to being coy and cagey and just denying responsibility and the prosecution was not able -- was not able to disprove any element of what he put forward. so, i'm not saying that this was an accident, but what i am saying is that if it was not an accident, we have to understand what the motive is. from a forensic, psychiatric standpoint and experience, the two most common explanations in a financially successful environment, where one person is not trying to get out of the relationship -- i should say the addresser is not trying to get out of the relationship because

you there is an affair or because he has a double life in one case that i worked on, he had a double life, he was a homosexual. when that's off the table, the two most common explanations are morbid jealousy or a proprietary crime. you can't leave me, you're my property, i can destroy you. >> all right. dr. michael wellner, we are not done. we are going to talk some more. take a short break. when we come back, we know that reportedly there was testosterone that was found at the scene, at the home of oscar pistorius. i can't wait to find out from you, your point of view, why that is relevant in this case. also, we are going to talk some more about nascar around history being made at daytona 500. all that straight ahead. [ woman ] my boyfriend and i were going on vacation, so i used my citi thankyou card to pick up some accessories. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? and with all the points i've been earning, i was able to get us a flight to our favorite climbing spot even on a holiday weekend. ♪

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you need an ally. ally bank. your money needs an ally. welcome back to the newsroom, i'm fredricks whitfield. we have been talking about the oscar pistorius murder case. just so many questions about this case and so much that we still don't know about exactly what happened that night. forensic psychiatrist and chairman of the forensic panel, dr. michael wellner, is back with me again. so earlier, dr. wellner, you talked about you would want to know whether drugs or alcohol played a role anyway that evening in which the shooting took place. we did hear reportedly that testosterone was found --

tonight at the oscarsmaker do it again, could be the only time you hear her sing this incredible song live, also going to be a huge tribute to the bond movies in general. shirley bassey will be performing. she has never performed at the oscars. i imagine we are hearing "goldfinger" just a guess, that is where my money would go. you will see all the surviving james bonds, i think there are six of them, and they are the rarest boys club in the world,

other than ex-american presidents. so, going to be quite a gathering if they all turn up. >> yeah, absolutely. get me a photo if you can, peter. thanks so much for that lot to look forward to. now we also got a reminder that starting -- oh, go ahead. what was piers saying? we missed that. but starting in less than 30 minutes, piers morgan will host a live cnn special, "the road to gold." aft the ceremony, be sure to tune back into cnn for "and the winner is" with piers. now going to get a check of our weather and tom seder has our wakeup weather forecast across asia. so tom, i hear it might be hard to breathe again for some people in china. >> just for a few more hours, patricia. a cold front is going to come through, the smog levels will drop. good evening, live from the

red carpet at the oscars, welcome to hollywood's biggest night. >> tonight, the stars. the speeches. >> oh, my god. >> the surprises. >> and the oscar goes to -- jean d desjardai desjardains. >> this is everything i'm talking about. >> if i'm doing a fake movie, it's gonna be a fake hit it all starts now. hollywood's biggest night the road to gold. s here your hos-- here's your h, piers morgan. oz scar night in hollywood, the stars are here the world is watching, i'm right in the thick of it really, on the red carpet, the biggest names show business walk their way what-to-what will be the 85th academy awards, we can call it this year, the

oscars. what a night it will be, covering it all, the styles, the surprise, the homes everyone talking about all happening right here, right now, with our special oscar preshow. and i have an all-star team joining me this spectacular night the roosevelt hotel, nischelle turner, above the red carpet is a.j. hammer and cnn national correspondent, alina cho, a look at all the fashions. the tension is building here, wolfgang puck is here. wolfgang? >> yes. >> we are live on cnn now. >> my favorite station. >> you are preparing the mother of all meals for the governor ball tonight. tell me what you got. >> this is going to be an amazing meal. if you want to eaten courses, you can have ten courses from baked potatoes with caviar to tore tell leannies with black truffles and chestnuts to kobe steak, even chicken pot pie for daniel day-lewis.

i think he is going to feel at he. and then we gonna have the lobster, going to have sushi, so many different things, it's unbelievable and i chilled already 100 bottles of dom perignon. everybody who wins gets a bolt. >> who drink more, the ones who lose or the ones who win? >> i think the ones who lose drink more. >> you have done 19 of these, i think. has the nightmare ever happened where you just run out of pow? >> the first year we did it here, it was called the kodak near the old time, before they went down and it -- i think it was like 10:00 at night, we were just serving the main course, power went out, gas went out and i had still to cook for like 1,000 people and i brought out, like, propane gas and sterno, 15 minutes later, the engineer finally made it up to the fifth floor around turned the power back on but the longest 15 minutes i ever had. >> love these, these are the chocolate oscars, nearest thing i will ever get.

>> if you get hungry one night at home, you eat them. >> can you present me with one of these? and come one some suitable thing that i could win. >> all right. this oscar goes to my favorite host on cnn. >> am i your favorite host? >> you are -- my favorite host. >> because wolf blitzer is probably watching this. that there is no loyalty amongst wolves. wolfgang. >> you will have to get an oscar for sure and sign you for another ten years. don't worry. >> do you get star struck? i get star struck. if i saw jack nicholson, i know he is here today, walking down here, i would be excited. do you get that little tingle? >> absolutely. i think when you see big stars like nicholson or streisand or george clooney or brad pitt or whoever, i remember him from the old spaghetti westerns, clint eastwood, i think it's amazing the history we have with some of the stars. i have seen them at the restaurant, too, but here, it's a special moment because there are so many here all at once. >> it is the biggest night of

this kind in the world. >> there's nothing like it. i don't think there is anywhere a party like that where you can have every table afterwards, there is a big star, producer, director, so, it's ral a lot of fun. the good thing is they are all hungry because most of them didn't eat for a month, especially the women. they want to be skinny and fit into their dresses are, but like today, they have to go to makeup, their hair dresser and their nails and then they have no time to avenue. but come 9:00 at night, they will all be with me and eating. >> how long does it take to prepare thin credible meal we are putting on? >> we started a week ago smoking the summers and everything. all together, over 20,000 hours of preparation between my team and i have 350 people in the kitchen and over 600 in the dining room. so, is a big effort, a great team. the good thing is from matt to sherry, even my son, byron, they all work it had so many years, makes it so easier for me. >> gout move quickly, guests like to come, eat at the

governor ball and go on to the ""vanity fair"" party andd have steen sing i finesteen singing. >> you have seen so many of these. >> wellll i'm sure daniel day-lewis going to win for "lincoln," steven spielberg and i will go probably best movie, miquel honeycutt for the "austri "austrian," the best foreign film. jennifer might win some. > a few surprises. >> i hope so i think they are going to have great music. i hear there's going to be a tribute to the 50th anniversary of james bond, with some of the music. >> shirley bassey singing live could be amazing. i know you got to dash, you got go and prepare the food. >> i have to cook. >> good to see you all. >> see you later.

>> amazing gastronomy from wolfgang puck. go to a.j. hammer now. you are up there on the bridge, peeringing down on us. what is the view like from up there? >> it's a very beautiful vantage point we have here. i'm just happy, there was this rumor going around, piers that wolfgang was going to pour fudge on you the big stunt on the red carp threat year, happy to see that he clearly behaved himself. as the stars begin to make their way down the red carpet, people at home, maybe still deciding if they are going to watch the show. in the past, maybe you felt it's always been the same old thing, but this year's oscar show promises to have a decide lid new feel to t we have very new producers this year. they are guaranteeing big surprises throughout the night all new host, seth mcfarland never done it before, you know he will put this stamp on his show and once-in-a-lifetime performances we will be talking about in a little bit u when it comes to the front runners for the big awards, the familiarity of art imitating life actually could be the key to oscar gold tonight. it's true life drama, hollywood

style. >> blood's been spilt. -to-afford us this moment. >> the historical movies are you get the big sets, you get the costumes you get the so-called truth factor around that's always appealing to the academy. >> reporter: deadline.com's pete hammond says best picture nominees and oscar favorites lincoln, ar goes, les mis ran, "zero dark thirty" and "django unchained" win votes by telling stories based on real events. >> a lot of best pictures have been these historical things, period pieces, "the king's speech" recently a big picture winner. "lawrence of arabia," all these great history-making movies also about history. >> actors know their hist fletch hollywood, a real-life role is a path to oscar gold. >> this year, of course, daniel day-lewis as abraham lincoln is by far, a front runner for best actor, for a reason like that playing these real-life percentage you can sort of compare them to the real one and it really enhances their

performances in the voters' mind. >> and piers, if daniel day-lewis does win the oscar for lincoln, as he is expected to do tonight, he will be the first actor to ever win three times in the category, firmly cementing his place in history. pretty cool for him. >> pretty amazing. he deserve it is. remarkable actor. he only makes a movie every three or four years, every one seems to win him an oscar. i am being join by my first guest, benh zeitlin, how old are you, 20? >> i actually just turned 30. i promise. >> if you whip, you will be the youngest ever director to win an oscar. >> that true? >> apparently. >> you know about that incredible to be here my first time, getting to meet people i grew up watching, an incredible feeling. >> i think the youngest director of a feature film, what they are telling me, pretty extraordinary. >> i didn't know that. >> you didn't know that? >> un-unh. no. i didn't know. it is a crazy experience what happened to us this year, we

were troubling through the swal blow our friends last year thinking we would be back making another movie by now just on our own and now, here we are. >> how do you feel to be up against people like steven spielberg, people of that magnitude this kind of thing? >> it is an unbelievable honor. i have so much respect for the work of the other directors in the category and, you know, you know, for me, it's -- i feel good to be here representing, you know, a very, very independent form of independent film >> you know, so hopefully we can sort of bring that flavor to the stage tonight and, you know, you know, sort of represent for all the people that are out there >> where is that little mischievous bag of tricks? >> i don't know where it s >> worries me you have lost control already. >> she is -- i lost control -- i never had control. she is a force of nature. you can't really -- >> how much did your movie cost to make? >> $about 1.5 million. >> how much has it taken so far? >> i think it made about $12 million in the states. >> in terms of return on investment are you must be the

hottest director in hollywood right now? >> doesn't quite work like that. there's still $300, $400 million movies out there we are certainly -- just for me, how many people have seen the film is really a miracle. >> you are a big new yorker. who have you brought as your hot date tonight? >> this is my sister, eliza. >> hello. how are you? >> i'm good. how are you? >> i have to ask you, what are you wearing? >> a black dress. >> we have no idea what we are doing here. >> do you know what you're wearing? >> not really. i don't care. >> did he gonna win? >> we're not here to win, but -- >> you're not here to win? >> happy to be here no matter what. >> you must be pretty proud of him though. >> she worked on the film, too. >> i built the sets for the film. >> so all down to you really? >> yeah. >> we make films collaboratively. >> a family effort. >> she is representing the big, big family that's back in louisiana now. >> a huge upset, i don't mind saying that, if you won. good luck to you.

best of luck to you. go to nischelle turner now. nischelle, over to you. >> you know what piers, not only is "beast of the southern wild" your best bang to for your buck in terms of investment in what benn's budget he was, it is also the shorterest movie nominated for best picture this year, runs one hour, 33 minutes. the longest movie, "django unchained," two hours, 45 minutes. you were talking to benh zeitlin, nominated tonight for best director but one of the names that of course, we all know by now left off the list of best director was ben affleck. and i tell you, that morning at the oscar nominations, there were people that were mouthing the words "no ben affleck" when we did not hear his name. who would have known that this awards season has actually become kind of his redemption story. it is actually now what he has dubbed his second act. take a look. >> the nominees are --

>> reporter: it's the number is heard round the world. ben affleck not getting a nomination besite "argo" getting a nomination. it has unt hurt him on the awards circuit turks helped him. golden globes, directors guild, baftas, you name the award, affleck won it for directing "argo." >> i'm thrilled. never thought i would get to this place in my career. >> reporter: 15 years ago, affleck and fellow boston buddy, matt damon, took home the screen writing actor for "good will hunting request." affleck quickly became one of hollywood's hottest stars but after early success came a series of disasters, both professional, the megaflop "jiggly." >> hello. >> reporter: and broken engagement to jennifer lopez. >> i had some stuff work and didn't and i ran afoul of the press, became overexposed, causing me to turn around and kwhaerks i do want to do in this industry? >> reporter: what he did was

become a director, starting with "gone, baby, gone" in 2007, followed by "the town," considered one of the best film poll was 2010. george clooney, the hollywood heavyweight with a golden touch and co-producer on "argo" knows a talented filmmaker when he sees one. >> he was in actor jail for a couple of years. we have all done it. he directed his way out of this. >> this is what i do. >> reporter: with box office success, critical acclaim and every major directing award under his belt will affleck's does scar snub set him and his film up for oscar success? we will find out tonight that could definite lib the story here tonight. now, usually, when there's a movie that's nominated for best pitcher and the director is not nominated for best director, it doesn't usually win. the last time that happened was 23 years ago when "driving miss days" won, but the director was not even nominated for that film either there aren't a lot of people shedding a a lot of tears for "argo" tonight t has been nominated, piers, for seven oscars and ben affleck was

nominated as a produce oirnt film as i send it back to you, i have to let you know, you are on the cayenne carpet tonight. that's the color of the carpet, more of a burgundy color, not really red. the academy folks said they feel like it translates better on television. so i will toss it back to you, piers, on the cayenne carpet. . it is actually red. it looks red on television. we're going to take a short break. come back and talk to elena cho about the fashion. it's looking sharp on the red carpet tonight. [ lorenzo ] i'm lorenzo.

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with xerox, you're ready for real business. academy awards. as we call it, the oscars. i'm joined by two very exciting men. you wouldn't think that because they're accountants and it's supposed to be boring, but these guys, brad and rick from price waterhouse, are clutching two brief cases, leather briefcases, rather normal, but inside, you contain the secrets to the oscars. every winner's name is in an envelope inside these. brad, i mean, these are the most prized, valued briefcases in the world right now. >> they are right now. rick and i have known the winners of the oscars for tonight since friday afternoon. we're the only two in the world who know. and we hand the envelopes to the presenters right before they go

on stage. >> rick, if i was to grab your case, burst it open and start reading it out, what would you do? >> i would grab you back and grab the case immediately, as well as my friend, guarding the cases as well as us for the evening. >> have you ever said, brad, a big star coming up to you before, because they know you've got the winners, and they know you know, saying give me a wink, give me something? >> i did have the wife of a nominee approach me once and ask me if i would tell her the winner in advance so she could enjoy the whole evening, knowing whether her husband had won or not, but that didn't work. >> i'm told that hugh jackman's father used to work for price waterhouse. >> he was a partner of ours in australia years ago. >> has he tipped the draak. >> we haven't said a word to anyone. >> that must be the ultimate thing that keep s you away. >> we spend as many hours as it takes to get an accurate vote, so no, no mistakes.

>> you hand these physically to the people who present the awards, right? >> we do, immediately before they walk out on stage, individually. >> it's quite something. no offense, but you're account nlts. supposed to be the world's most boring job, and here you are right now, oscars red carpet with what appears to be the most exciting job in the world. >> we realize that. especially on monday morning. >> monday morning, the party is over, right, rick? back to number crunches. >> the life of walter mitty ends immediately after best picture. >> are you pleased with the winners? can you say that? >> we don't really have an opinion on it? >> yes, you do. >> not nat we would disclose. >> argo? >> this is going to be a great show tonight. one heck of a show. >> are we in for surprises? >> every year, surprises. >> you heard it there first, cnn viewers. shocks in these briefcases. i just don't know what they are yet, but i'll find out. thank you both very much. >> take care. secrets of the oscar briefcases.

let's go to acheelealina cho on bridge. she's dealing with fashion. where are you with what we can expect tonight? >> well, here's what we're hearing. we're hearing also, piers, that sally field is in the car, on the way to the oscars wearing a red silk and chiffon valentino dress. valentino couture. i remember it very well, i saw it as it came down the runway. also expected, we're looking at robin roberts as she's walking down the red carpet, and she looks incredible in that blue halter gown. she just came back this week. just a few things we want to point out about this. as you well know, piers, the oscars are really the super bowl of fashion. this red carpet is the most important in the world. remember, it comes at the end of a very long award season. there have been more than a dozen awards shows already, and as one stylist, kate young, pointed out to me today, she said, listen, these actresses

have been getting their hair and makeup done and been in gowns for two straight months. they're exhausted. at this point, the whole design process is very focused. it really comes down to just a couple gowns. i spoke to octave yeah spencer and said she should she would likely be in soji or perhaps another gown, but she said that designer is easy because it's easy to deal with perfection, not so easy to deal with imperfection. remember, this is the most important red carpet. we're also hearing that barbra streisand will be in a custom made donna karan gown and a long-sleeved chiffon capelet that will go to the floor. donna karan herself is here in los angeles and she's expected to attend the oscars. also here, vera wang, zac posen, loui s vuitton. perhaps a hint of what we may see coming down the red carpet.

i also want to take a quick peek at what jennifer hudson is expected to win. we're hearing she will wear a long sleeved beaded lace gown, and i believe we have a sketch of it or a photo that we hope to show you. again, piers, just to keep this all in perspective, this is a process that goes on for months with stylists and lots of handlers. these women have all the choices in the world. it is the most glamorous, the most expensive, the most over the top fashion and jewelry you will see on the planet and you will see it all here tonight. piers. >> i am literally standing a few feet away from robin roberts, the gma host off for most of the year having extensive and serious surgery. she looks absolutely amazing and the crowd were chanting her maim. a moving moment for her. spectacular to see her here

looking so glamorous on the red carpet. you can start to feel the excitement wibuilding on the re carpet. you start to get a few stars appearing. the magnitude of those stars increases over the next hour and a half, building up to the great moment for the bleaching creatures, these die-hard oscar fans sitting behind me who wear these ti-shirts, the most die-hard fans. they're here for george clooney because he's the one apparently they all go completely quackers for. when you hear an earthquake go off, it will be because the bleacher creatures have identified gorgeous george clooney arriving through that tunnel there. we'll hope to get to robin roberts in a moment. it must be a moving moment for her to make an appearance tonight at the 85th academy awards because there have been i'm sure moments in hir leaf when she didn't think she would make it at all. and that's a